News
Ghana achieves 98% participation in Eurobond debt restructuring
The Ministry of Finance has announced the successful completion of its Eurobond debt exchange and consent solicitation process.
The initiative, which aims to restructure Ghana’s Eurobond debt, has received overwhelming support from bondholders, marking a significant milestone in the country’s economic recovery efforts.
Launched on September 5, 2024, the offer invited eligible holders of Ghana’s Eurobonds to exchange their existing bonds for new ones under two menu options—Par and Disco.
As of the final expiration deadline on September 30, 2024, 98.6% of bondholders, representing the recognized principal amount of the existing bonds, participated in the offer.
During the bondholder meetings on Thursday, October 3, holders of the 2013, 2014, and 2015 WB-Guaranteed Notes passed extraordinary resolutions with over 90% representation, enabling the restructuring process to proceed smoothly.
Meanwhile, for Aggregated CAC Notes, consents exceeded 98.7%, meeting the required thresholds for the exchange.
A majority of bondholders (91% of the principal amount) opted for the Disco menu of new notes, while 7.6% chose the Par menu, which remained under its cap of U.S. $1.6 billion, leaving a balance of U.S. $605 million available for future allocation.
Subject to the terms of the exchange, a total of U.S. $126 million in consent fees will be distributed to eligible bondholders who submitted their instructions by the early consent deadline.
The new bonds are expected to be issued on or around October 9, 2024, with full settlement to follow shortly thereafter.
The successful completion of this exchange is a critical step in Ghana’s broader debt restructuring efforts under its International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, further strengthening the country’s path towards debt sustainability and normalizing relations with international capital markets.
The Government of Ghana expressed gratitude to bondholders for their participation and support, emphasizing that this successful outcome reflects a shared commitment to restoring the country’s economic stability.
In preparation for the issue date, all existing Eurobonds, including those for which no consent or exchange instructions were given, will be blocked from trading to ensure a smooth final settlement.
Source: Citinewsroom.com
News
Craze for x’mas shopping: Crowded markets, low patronage
Vendors of food and other wares associated with the Christmas celebration have expressed surprise at the low patronage despite the increased number of visitors to some of the major markets across the capital.
Four days to the celebration(Christmas), the markets are filled with various products ranging from food, clothing, livestock and many other stuff, but according to the vendors, patrons are doing more ‘window’ shopping.
The Spectator on visits to some of the markets in the capital, notably the Odawna, Makola, Accra Central Business District, New Town and others made similar observations as shoppers crowd them but did little in terms of purchases.
The paper also observed that majority of vendors, originally selling other wares have switched to product related to the festive season.
What it means is that there are a lot more clothes, food and vegetables, livestock and poultry, toys, firecrackers, drinks of different types and many others on display.
The markets have also stretched to the pedestrian pavement, leaving very narrow spaces for commuters to move about freely.
That, in addition to a few of the female vendors dressed in coloured attires to reflect the occasion, has heightened the euphoria, leaving the low sales as the only headache for the vendors.
Speaking with this paper, they sounded very optimistic, believing that sales would improve in the last few days to the yuletide.
According to them, there was the opportunity to sell beyond Christmas as the New Year celebration offers similar opportunity to trade the same wares.
They urged patrons to throng the markets to shop since prices were quite moderate and products affordable for all.
News
Retirement service for Elder John Ackom-Asante,3 others
Retired Deputy Editor of The Spectator, Elder John Ackom-Asante, was last Sunday honoured by the Church of Pentecost Windy Hills District in Kasoa in the Central Region, with a retirement thanksgiving service, after serving for 26 year as an Elder of the church.
He was honoured with a citation and certificate of service along with three other elders who served in the capacity for various years.
Elder Ackom-Asante was baptised at the Darkuman Central Assembly in 1979 and ordained as an Elder in 1997.
The citation read “Your selfless service, zeal, willingness to relate wholeheartedly and your desire to effect change has gone a long way to shape the lives of many people in the church and the nation over the 26 years of your dedication to the service of the Lord.”
Elder Ackom- Asante held many positions at the Darkuman Central Assembly, Obuasi in the Ashanti Region and Tema, serving in various capacities as youth and evangelism ministry leader and marriage counsellor.
He was the founding member of the Darkuman Christian Fellowship, a member of the Greater Accra Christian Fellowship; member of Bible Society of Ghana; founding member Obuasi Chapter Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International and founding member of New Times Corporation Christian Fellowship and Chaplain, Methodist University Tema Campus 2009- 2010.
As a professional journalist, Elder Ackom-Asante combined effectively and efficiently his duty as a member and elder of the church and the demands of his profession, with admiration from the church, kith and kin, till his retirement on December
From Alhaji Salifu Abdul-Rahaman, Kasoa
